Tempest Unleashed (7 page)

I love you, too
, Kona said, his voice soft and sweet and sensuous as it brushed against the corners of my mind.
Now sleep, baby. I’ve got you.

Giving in to temptation, I relaxed, let myself drift. I knew he would take care of me. I didn’t sleep, though, despite the narcotic effect of the painkillers. There was something so nice about being held securely by Kona as we zipped through the sea that I didn’t want to miss any part of it. With both of our lists of responsibilities, we didn’t get to see each other enough as it was.

Ocean life teemed around us, bold and bright and beautiful, and the deeper Kona took us, the more vibrant the colors became, until it seemed like the whole world was one huge psychedelic kaleidoscope of color. Reds and yellows, pinks and greens, whirling by at an amazing rate.

Fish, octopuses, selkies, mermaids, and even sharks seemed to surround us—to be watching us from every angle. At first, I thought it was the medication, making me see double or triple. But the faster Kona swam, the more of them there were, until they lined the water on all sides of us.

I glanced up at a particularly beautiful school of fish—purple masked angelfish, I think, in shades of canary yellow and violet. I was spellbound by them, the way they darted around one another, spinning and diving, until they all blended together into what looked like one long, glowing rope.

Look
, I told Kona, pointing up.
You can almost see their halos.

He laughed.

What?
I asked.
You don’t see it?

I think you’re the only one who sees it, Tempest. You’re hammered out of your mind on painkillers.

No.
I reached a hand up to touch the long, glowing line—to show him that I was right—but there was nothing there.
You really don’t see them?
I whispered, sad for him. Those angelfish were some of the most gorgeous things I’d ever seen, even down here where the waters were filled with one beautiful mystery after another.

Oh, I see them, just not like you do
, he teased.

Why are they all here?
I glanced between the different types of sea life that surrounded us.
Shouldn’t they be trying to get away from the sharks and viperfish?
I looked all around. There was even a giant squid following us—I’d never seen one this close before—and yet none of the fish or other creatures seemed the least bit concerned.

He kissed my back, his lips soft and sweet against my shoulder blade.
They’re here for you, Tempest.

What do you mean?
It was hard to concentrate when he was doing that, especially knowing that there were thousands of eyes watching us. I shrugged, tried to get him to stop, but he wasn’t quite ready to let go. Instead, he trailed his lips up my spine until I all but melted into a puddle of goo.

Only then did he lift his head.

And that’s when I knew. He was claiming me in front of the whole ocean—letting every creature out there, including those loyal to Tiamat, know that I was under his protection. It was a warning, pure and simple, to anyone who tried to mess with me.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, wasn’t sure if I should argue or appreciate it.

In the end, I decided to just let it go. Obviously, Kona was taking Tiamat’s attack even worse than I’d imagined.

Are you doing this?
I asked, struggling to think clearly through the medication.
Are you calling all these fish to us?

No, baby. They’re here to protect you.

To protect
me? I was baffled.

By now, news that Tiamat attacked you again has to have spread through most of the Pacific, as has word of your injury. They’re here to make sure you get home safely.

Why?

No one’s forgotten what you did eight months ago, Tempest. The sacrifices you made to keep us all safe. This is their way of giving back.

And you know this how?
I asked, suspicious.

Because they told me, of course.

Right. I’d forgotten that another one of the talents selkies had was being able to talk to almost all the other species in the ocean. It made my electric show seem kind of pathetic in comparison.

I looked back up at the rows upon rows of sea life surrounding us, hammerhead sharks swimming next to sea turtles, squids drifting along next to clownfish. Predators and prey organized into a gauntlet of sorts—not one meant to harm, but to show the selkie prince support. It was an awe-inspiring, if intimidating, sight.

They stayed with us the whole way—all six hundred miles through Kona’s territory to Hailana’s. Some of the smaller fish grew tired, dropped out, but they were quickly replaced with others of their kind.

Less than four hours later—even in human form, Kona was a faster swimmer than I—we reached mermaid territory. Coral Straits was about twice the size of the waters ruled by Kona’s father, stretching thousands of miles and covering some of the Pacific’s most prosperous areas.

It was ruled by the merQueen Hailana. She’d been my mother’s queen, and her best friend, if everything I’d heard about the two of them was to be believed. Now she was my queen, and we were still working out the kinks in that system. To say we had a volatile relationship would be something of an understatement.

I think when she took me under her wing, she’d expected me to be a carbon copy of my mother. To behave exactly as Cecily had.

Unfortunately for her—and for me, I sometimes thought—I wasn’t any better at conforming than I was at taking orders. Which meant Hailana and I butted heads. A lot. So much so lately that she would probably be disappointed to hear I hadn’t perished in the deep-sea attack. It would certainly have made her life easier if I had.

As we cruised the last hundred miles to Hailana’s castle, we slowly lost our escorts. The selkies were the first to go, followed by most of the large predators, so that by the time we reached the deep, narrow trench we needed to take to get into the city, we were alone except for Kona’s guards.

Kona dived into the trench, his natural silver phosphorescence guiding the way through the long, winding tunnel. In places, it narrowed so much that I thought he would crush me between his arms, but somehow we made it through. The closer we got to the city, the more uncertain I became about returning here.

Part of me wanted to head to Kona’s place instead—there I would be coddled and taken care of. Here, with Hailana, it was a different story. She would have heard about the attack by now, and I was sure she would find some new and unique way to make me pay for my mistakes. Of course, now would probably be a great time to get my punishment over with, considering I felt so drowsy and floaty that I could barely focus. It might very well be the most painless encounter I’d ever had with Hailana, besides the time we first met.

We took the final, twisty upturn into the center of Coral Straits at dazzling speeds, bursting like a minicyclone into the place I’d called home these last eight months. I clung to Kona, more than a little dizzy after that last wild ride.

What was that for?
I asked, trying to make sense of the crazily spinning world around me.

I don’t know what you’re talking about.
He sounded so innocent that I almost bought it, probably
would
have bought it if the first thing I saw when I was finally able to focus hadn’t been Hailana. She was floating a few feet away from the trench’s opening, arms crossed over her chest and blue eyes completely disapproving. So much for being summoned to her chambers—she’d been so pissed off she’d actually come to me.

You did that on purpose
, I accused Kona.
You knew she was going to be here and you wanted to make her mad.

I guessed she was going to be here and I wanted to send her a message.

What message? Kill Tempest now instead of later?

More like: you mess with Tempest, you mess with me.

I didn’t know whether to be charmed or annoyed, so I settled on a little bit of both.
I can fight my own battles, you know.

I never doubted it—especially after today. But since I’m amazed you’re still reasonably coherent after the pills you took, I figure you could use a little break before she starts in on you.

I can deal with Hailana.

He shrugged.
Okay, have at it, tiger
. He dropped his arms from around me and pulled back, leaving me dazed and disoriented and at Hailana’s mercy.

I see you’ve been busy, Tempest.
She thrust the words into my head, her voice reeking of disapproval. For a woman who looked every one of her centuries of life, her words slammed across our personal connection with incredible force.

You know me
, I returned with a guileless smile.

I do, indeed.
Her eyes, faded with age but still sharp, shifted to Kona.
What’s wrong with her?

She’s had a rough day. She needs to go lie down
.

I noticed he didn’t refer to my injuries at all, and briefly I wondered if perhaps Kona knew more about what was going on between Hailana and me than he let on. But trying to think about it made my head hurt, so I resolved to figure things out later when I was back to normal.

Playing nursemaid, Kona?
The queen opened up our conversation as she watched him with careful eyes.

Better than playing sea witch, Hailana.

I’mstillhereyouknow
, I interrupted.
StoptalkingaboutmelikeIdon’t haveabrain.
I wanted to say more, to tell both of them to stop posturing, but it was obvious I had garbled the words so badly that neither of them had understood a word I’d just said. I tried to start over, but now that I was finally home, I was crashing quickly, and it was all I could do to keep my eyes open.

I can see this is a waste of time
, Hailana said. Then she glided over to me, stroked a soft hand down my cheek.
Poor child. Your life isn’t easy down here, is it?

I blinked, positive I’d misheard her. She hadn’t shown me that much compassion—or any compassion at all, really—since the day of my mother’s funeral. I must be more doped up than I thought.

Before I could say anything, she turned to Kona.
Take Tempest to her room and get her settled. I expect to see her in my chambers the moment she is feeling more like herself.

And there she was—every inch the merQueen again. Kona and I watched as she made her way through the small crowd that had gathered, all members of her court. When she was gone, he turned to me with a grin.
Right. Bed for you. Now.

You sound entirely too excited by that prospect
, I told him as he swept me back into his arms.

What’s not to be excited about?
He started swimming.
So, do you want surface or water?

I closed my eyes, rested my head against his arm.
Pick one.
I was fading fast.

Water’s closer.
We followed the queen back to her underwater palace, then swam through the halls quickly and quietly. My suite was on the fourth floor of the palace, which—except for me—was reserved for royalty. But when I’d chosen to be mermaid, Hailana had given me my mother’s old chamber, which basically meant I had my own wing of the building. Cecily, it seemed, had needed a lot of room to stretch out. I just found it lonely.

Kona carried me into my suite, locking the door behind us. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he only shrugged.
Even with the queen’s guards—and my own—I’m not sure how secure it is for you here. Better to be safe than sorry.
He laid me on the bed, then stood behind me, hands shoved into the back pockets of his black-and-gray-patterned board shorts.
Do you need anything?

It was the first time in months that I’d seen him look so nonplussed. He was always so confident, always seemed to know what he wanted, that this sudden discomfort in my bedroom was kind of charming. Okay, really charming, if I was honest.

I just want to sleep,
I told him as I reached for his hand.
I’m exhausted.

Okay.

Stay with me?

Yeah?

Of course.
Though it hurt, I scooted over on the bed. He settled down next to me, sliding his arm under my head so I could use his bicep as a pillow.
Thanks for coming for me
, I told him as I traced the intricate tattoo that softly glowed where it wound around his arm from shoulder to wrist.

Don’t be stupid,
he said, dropping a kiss on my cheek.
I’ll always come for you. And thanks for staying alive. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.

For one brief second, Mark’s face flashed before my eyes. Then I banished it as I had banished my feelings for him so many months before.
I guess it’s a good thing you don’t have to find out.

A very good thing.
His other arm wrapped around my waist, pulled me even closer. It felt so good, so deliciously warm, to be held by him that I drifted to sleep without another word.